SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL - Laserfiche WebLink

65852. All such regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of building or use of land throughout each zone, but the regulation in one type of zone may differ from those in other types of ones. Existing Subjective Density Standard This historic preservaticn task force process resulted from the conflicts that arose during the last five years when an activist group grabbed on to the following clause in the Downtown Design Guidelines to oppose home improvements: • Floor area of new homes and additions to existing homes are to be compatible with surrounding houses. Having that subjective standard applied actively by the Staff, neighbor groups, and Planning Commission led to multiple home improvements which met the 40% FAR standard being subjected to shouting matches over density at the Planning Commission and City Council. The revised Guidelines modify that clause to read: • The mass and bulk of new single-family homes and additions to existing single-family homes are to be compatible with homes in the immediate area. . . Either wording is just an invitation to determine permitted density on a case by case basis in shouting matches at City public hearings. That clause should simply be deleted from the proposed Downtown -lesign Guidelines. Remaining Issues: 1. Date when history begins. The key is that whatever year you pick, you still need rules that allow properties constructed before that date to be rehabilitated and improved. I have no problem with 1942 as the date. 2. Must still meet California Register criteria. Moreover, a building's mere existence before say 1942 does not make a building a historic structure: It still has to meet strict criteria under the California Register. Mediocre old buildings can still be replaced. 3. Local criteria? The Director of Community Development has confirmed to Planning Commission and City Council that Pleasanton is not adopting local historic resource criteria different and more stringent than the California Register criteria. 4. Mandatory Guidelines? The Director of Community Development has confirmed to Planning Commission that inclusion in the Downtown Specific Plan of a mandate to comply with the Downtown Design Guidelines will not be interpreted to make "should's" in the Guidelines into "shall's" —those suggestive guidelines will remain suggestive rather than mandatory. ;. Surcharge on "Historic Resource" properties? It is burden enough to have your property Designated a "Historic Resource". To charge those property owners for the cost of the Historic Resource Survey whenever they improve their properties, as planned, would be an undue burden. 3